Quirky startups doing things differently in mobile technology (pictures)

Ready to meet some quirky and interesting startups looking to do things a little differently in the world of mobile technology? Then come with us!

(Shown here: the Dtoor Cyrcle. Read on...)

We met this collection of new, quirky and interesting startups at the 4 Years From Now event in the shadow of the beautiful Palau Nacional in Barcelona, Spain.

Mobiko is a keyboard with a trackpad. Nothing novel about that, right -- except the keyboard is the trackpad. Brush your fingers over the surface of the keyboard itself to move the cursor.

Fancy a beer? This Taptronics smart tap, already in use at music festivals, measures out the perfect pint to eliminate wastage.

The Dtoor Cyrcle is a 3D-printed prototype of a simple phone/wearable designed to break the mould of rectangular phones.

Spare is an app that lets you skip the ATM and withdraw cash from a nearby store -- just show the app to the shopkeep and get cash from the till. Check out our story to find out how it works.

Modular smartwatch Blocks made an appearance at the show -- it's something we've spent time with before. It's a neat concept: the watch face shows all kinds of incoming notifications (messages, calendar appointments, calls, and so on), but the strap is made up of swappable modules. Want GPS for your run? Simply buy a GPS-equipped module and slot it into the strap.

Just want long battery life for the watch? Build your strap simply out of four or five extra battery modules.

Blocks showed off new colours, as well as an updated module design that's lighter and slimmer than before, which should make it more comfortable. The watch is due to be available later this year.

Augmented Acoustics is a French startup that makes headphones you wear at concerts and music festivals. The headphones are connected to the mixing desk so you hear the nuances of the music as it's played wherever you are in the venue or festival.

This is Clay Fingers, which connects an app to mouldable Play-Doh-like toys to let kids make models of animals and learn about nature.

Do you know where your dog is? This smart pet-tracking system tells you the GPS location and movements of your pet, and also feeds information back to vets.

What3Words gives every point on earth an address formed of three random words.

Keen skier? Maybe Carve can help bring out your best on the slopes.

Carve is made up of a variety of sensors -- including an insole that slips inside your ski boot -- which track all kinds of info about your run down the mountain. Speed and GPS are logged, of course, but it'll also be able to tell how well you're turning, based on the pressure inside your boot.

Are you getting enough water? This smart coaster will help keep track of your water intake throughout the day and will glow red to remind you to take a sip.

Make a cute robot yourself by folding the card sheets around the small robotic unit, seen on the right. it's packed with sensors so it can navigate its way around the map seen on the table top.